Oh Good Grief!

Can it really be 12 days since I last posted something? I'm afraid it can, and it has been. But I have a great excuse. I've been vacationing. Really. We went camping and everything. I have the bug bites to prove it. You may not see them though, those little critters can get into the oddest places . . .

I gave up. Flat gave up trying to do the Book in a Month (BiaM) thing this time. Bad planning on my part. I think that type of hard time in the chair in front of the computer will work for me at some level. I just have to excuse myself sometimes from the silly, unrealistic goals we all make. Lose 20 pounds, start exercising, swear less. You know, THOSE kinds of things which, while nice and worthwhile, are not a big priority when the carousel of life speeds up and threatens to toss you in the dirt. Hanging on becomes a BIG priority.

I've been hanging on nicely, the spinning is slowing to the point where I can gracefully dismount my colored pony (well, okay, I'm not that graceful). Now to just keep going.

Margaret's story is coming along nicely and I've gotten good feedback and encouragement from a wonderful teacher, Dalia, at Gotham Writer's Workshop. I haven't shown the story to many other folks because unlike the short stories I write to improve my craft, I don't want input on this very special story. I will be my first of many novels and it may never get published. But it will be completely my work, my craft.

As I said, I've been writing short stories, about 50 of them so far, to learn to write. I have 4 other novels started, so I have no problem with finding something to work on. I have University classes (only 8 more!) to complete a Bachelor's Degree in English.

All this means I need to prioritize. Real school first, then Margaret's story, followed by stories. I still have lots to learn. The blog is fun, but not the thing I think about most. It is the place to put all these various and sundry thoughts together for quick retrieval when I'm standing in the house saying to myself "what was I supposed to be doing?"

Onward. I'll try to get Honey to show up more. My son has decided that she is his favorite character. Mine is still Margaret.

Peace,

Margaret's Mom

BiaM Day3 - 847

Yesterday was August 3, so Book in a Month Day 3. I got to 847 words. Spent most of my day at the beach watching the kids surf, the sun set, the world go around. All in all, a good day.

Peace,

Margaret's Mom

BiaM Day2 - 1335

Okay, so I only got to 1335 today - SO FAR! I plan on writing some more tonight before bedtime. I was at work today and as happens some times, work gets in the way of my life.

But I was happy with what I produced. Also got homework done. Saved a few lives. You know, the usual.

Going camping at the beach and surf camp with my real life family, so I should have good writing time, since I don't surf. I do take pictures though. Maybe I'll post pictures when I get back. Maybe not. :)

Peace,

Margaret's Mom

BiaM Day 1 -2246

Day 1 we are supposed to write a single sentence story summary - did that.

We set goals for the month: Write 2323 words per day to equal 80,000 for the month - did that.

We write: 2246 words today! Close enough to the goal. Ended a scene and didn't want to start the next and quit just for word counts, so a few more words tomorrow should be no big deal.

The summary sentence is this: A young girl desperately wants to communicate with her dead mother and tries all available means to do so, learning about trust and self-worth in the process.

So far, so good.

Peace,

Margaret's Mom

Starting Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, I am going to write 2,000 words a day for 31 days. The entire month of August. I'm going to write Margaret's story so that I finally have a first draft. Complete. No excuses.

So 2,000 times 31 days (30 days hath September, April, June and November - drat! That means August has 31 days. Sigh.) equals - where is my calculator - 62,000 words. Most novels shoot for around eighty, but I've already written 7,979 (sheesh, is that all?), so that makes 69,979.

That's pretty close to done, but I really want 80,000 by the 31st. So, dividing the rest by 31, I get 323.26 more words per day necessary to reach my goal. I think I will round down the point 26, that will look funny to have 1/4 of a word, and by the next day, I might not remember which word I intended, and then everything will get a bit messy. So, 2323 words per day. Ahhhhh!

I can do it. You can too, if you want. Anyone care to join me? Write a novel in a month? Chicken!

I'll be posting word totals for the day, but perhaps not much else. Depends on if I get crazy frustrated or not. And then, of course, I actually have other things to do too. But like I said, I can do it.

Wish me luck and lots of inspiration.

Peace,

Margaret's Mom